What is a slump?

It's been a strange start of the spring.  I have not gotten anything finished in knitting or crocheting.
Sometimes those inadequate feelings just wrap me around like a blanket.  Which reminds me that I have an unfinished granny square blanket somewhere.  Not that I really care.
To be critical of oneself is sometimes dangerous for someone who wants to create art.  Any which way, drawing, painting, sculpting , knitting, crocheting, and any other method.  Because it might stop a person to continue with a project. 

My slump blanket is decorated with self doubt, and "I am no good in this".  There was a time when that didn't matter, whether I was good or not.  I kept going and being happy. 

I am not saying that I am unhappy now, I am just full of crappy thoughts and those thoughts make me
doubt my creativity.  Am I repeating myself?

Sometimes I wonder if I ever fit with any other group of people.  I am only pushing myself to participate but still feel like an outsider.

On the positive note, I have learned some new tricks in Brioche knitting.  I had known the basics, but increasing and decreasing were a mystery.  I think I have nailed the increasing quite well.  I still have to stop and think the decreasing, since there are two leaning decreases, left and right.  Important in
A designed pattern. 

Next step would be two colors, but that can wait, I have other projects started (did I mention that I have not finished anything for a while - started a few)

This one would be (haha) a summer vest or top, on top of a tee-shirt.  This will be done in Patons Grace cotton yarn.  I am on a stash diet.  Meaning I will use only yarns that are in my stash.  Although I have a very itchy feeling to go and visit Yarn Guy, and see if he has any other colors than what I have.  However, for those itches will disappear if I work on something else.  Sad, isn't it. 

Next on my started things is almost finished top.  I have no idea when I started it, and why stopped.  But here it is, in an unfinished form, and somewhat wrinkled, since it's been wrapped like a pile of yarn in a bag, for years. 

The other project. Is also with Patons Grace cotton yarn, a mitered squares top or something.  I have tried to make summer tops many times, only a few have been finished.  I might get these two finished before the summer is over.


I made a Sima Drink for May 1st, but was not successful.  I had dumped a whole bag of dry yeast, instead of miniscule amount.  Also, I didn't have enough liquid.  The Drink was somewhat alcoholic.  Most of it I threw out.
Some I drank, and felt oddly lightheaded, even though the alcohol amount
Was very slight.

The other day I made another dose of this Sima, and so far so good, but not ready for drinking yet.
                                            
And one more link .  I am making a Mediterranean salad for a group that is meeting soon. I have all the ingredients already. 

Now, if only I could get my inspiration come home, and sweep all the crappy thought webs from my blanket, and leave me with a fresh mind to finish something. 

Keep going Girl!

First some whining,

back pain for over a week.  Have done too much lifting things, as in bags of yarn, boxes of yarn,
just yarn. Let me explain, I have a stash room (second bedroom) full of stuff, mostly yarn, in boxes, plastic tubs, and bags.  Decided to organize *organize*,  me?  Good grief!
Well, I did some, and now the back is screaming. Tylenol 3 snubbed, Arthritis Tylenol laughed, standing and leaning against the table helped after half an hour.  Sleep is great, no problem.

Should I just sleep?  NO, I must check the e-mail, check the Facebook, oh, and go to work.  Work
might have something to do with some pain to a degree.  Sitting all day, working on a keyboard, trying to get the correct information into the record archives, inside the data files.  That's hard work, and will cause discomfort sometimes.  However, I do love my work, and have always enjoyed going to the office.  Occasional getting up to go and fetch coffee or lunch, or water,
is a good thing.

Oh, I was not going to talk about work.  Back to whining.  No cork needed, since my whining has nothing to do with wine.

This is my solution for the problem, Aleve, which may cause tummy pains, but which is worse?

I realized something this morning, why is my back not in pain when I am in bed?  I have a padding with magnetic buttons inside.  Well, yeaah, sure.  This morning I took one Aleve, found another of those paddings in the linen closet.  Put it on my chair and what, I am practically pain free, unless I get up.  Is it Aleve or the padding with magnets?  Don't know, but I am going sit here all day, even
if I don't have the witch powers to move things around with the wiggle of my nose (I can't do it anyway, even if I was a witch, which I might have been in my previous life, which is another story).

On the reality side (whining isn't my daily topic):

What's up?  The Knitting goddess has been my friend for a good part of my weekly events.
There is a shawl, a scarf, a jacket, a freeform thing, another shawl, something that I don't even
know what, hats, and socks, but I am very organized (another "good grief).  Organizing is not a word I use lightly.

These are Hedwig socks (referring to Hedwig, Harry Potter's owl)  for my step-daughter-in-law.
I was going to add eyes and a nose but decided it was too much work.  :-)

Some baby stuff, little jackets and two blankets

Hat that will go to charity

This hat was meant for a friend, but it came out too small.  The brim is very loose, too. I have fix it, and then this one goes to charity, as well as

the baby hat here:

 I love this shawl, the yarn is size 10 crochet thread, Katie Jaipur, and the colors are amazing.

I have put this shawl aside for a few days, since I was busy with the hats and other things.

A scarf for my niece in Argentina:

The yarn, Patons Grace.

Forgot what this was going to be:

 

 And this is a Seraphina Shawl start, which might never see another stitch done:

 Crocheted this Edelweiss shawl in less than a week.  It will probably end up in charity section.

Guess who this is!  Merlin, of course, isn't he adorable?

Baby surprise Jacket.  Pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman, the knit master.

baby jacket in apple green cotton yarn, somewhere there is a pattern, but where?  Here!

Crochet bolero for my grandaughter in Argentina

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And finally, some of the plastic tubs that have swallowed some yarn.  These and some others are going in the stash room, if I can find a space for them.  (wiping tears here)

 

There has been some serious cabbage cooking too, in my kitchen.  Cabbage soup, Cabbage rolls, 

Cabbage casserole, and last night a soup with chicken broth, cabbage, ground chicken, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, red onion, and some celery, that was in the back of the fridge, still good, surprise.

I have lunches for two or three weeks now.  Of course it's possible I will have something else, too, since I am already getting somewhat tired with cabbage.   

I don't really have recipes for my cabbage dishes, I've used my imagination, and googled a few tricks and so on.  I am a freestyle cook.

I am also reading a lot these days, Currently P. J. Parrish's Louis Kincaid series.

Of course some others, but these books are my latest fancy.

The first book "Dark of the Moon" came from library as it's not available for Kindle.

Have started it but not even half way thru, yet.

Came across with this post in FaceBook, and thought it was good

http://sinivalakosinsilimin.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/kiiress-duunis-tois-busy-working-work.html

Decided that this was enough for one post.  Have to go and see if my mess will disappear at least a little bit.  

Sunday in March

I have been watching Jule and Julia on DVD. How much can one person cook in a year? I would not think of making something out of a cook book every day. I forget that I cook every day of the year, except when hubby cooks, or we order pizza or KFC or we go out. But, regardless, we cook
every day possible. I just didn't think that one would do it from recipes all the time.

I have many cook books, even the Joy of Cooking, but not Julia Child's book. What a shame, is it not? Of course my Joy isn't the original, it's the one that has been made to fit the modern kitchen, with food processors and microwave ovens, etc. My book is on the shelf unused. I think I have checked one recipe during the years I have owned this book.

It's been a week of no production in my knitting world. I tried to crochet a little bit, and managed to make an Irish Crochet beginner's motif

Any other projects are sitting either on the table or in my bag.
I managed to knit a few rows at our monthly knit group meeting.
I am trying to make a scarf from Margaret Hubert's book "Knit or
Crochet - Have it Your Way".

The scarf is knitted with Noro Kureyon sock yarn.
Of course I have a long way to go to finish the scarf, since I have a mere 30 cm done out of 2 meters (which is my goal). But it's going to be very pretty. What do you think?

I have done a few more rows than shows on the picture, but not much.

The "Forest and Trees" socks are now resting, and I will get back to them when my knitting slump has recovered. Until then, I will do my zentangles and watch TV.

Back in December, someone decided to come too close to my car, when I was waiting at the red
light. The damage was not substantial, but my car is leased and has to be fixed before I return it
to the dealer. The man's insurance is paying the fix, which is not too much money, but I refuse to
pay it myself, since I didn't cause the damage. Well, I have been guilty of causing damage by turning left and gotten hit by another car, but that's not the point here. The dealer would charge much more to fix any damages I have on the leased car. So, anyone who has a leased car, if any damage is done, fix it before the dealer takes you to the cleaners.

So, I have been thinking of getting the bumper fixed, thinking and thinking, and finally, after a dream one night (I was at a body shop with my car), I decided it was time to just go, leave the car, and take the public transit to go to work. It's going to be fun. One way is to take a bus to
a subway station, take one subway going north, then another to go east, then take another bus
to work. Fun. I wish I felt like knitting, I could do lot of it in the subway and bus.
Another way is to take a bus to another bus, go north, take a bus from a subway station......are you still reading? I am not, this is so boring. I wish I could just fly in a traffic plane, wouldn't that be fun?

Oscars? Are you going to watch the Award show tonight? I am. I've seen so many of the movies that were nominated that it would be more interesting to watch now than before when I had not seen any of the movies. We got movie passes for Christmas, so it's been fun. We even saw Avatar. My favorite actress is Sandra Bullock, and she was excellent in "The Blind Side". I also liked George Clooney in his role in "Up in the Air"
If you like country music, you should see (just sayi'n) the "Crazy Heart" with Jeff Bridges.

Back to food:

I have a tasty and easy soup recipe here:

2 containers of low sodium chicken broth
1 package Cole-slaw mix
1 package bean sprouts
1 Spanish onion (chopped)
3 celery stalks (chopped)
1-2 green peppers (chopped)
1-2 cups cauliflower buds
1-2 cups broccoli buds
2 cups green beans (cut in nice pieces)
2 cups carrots (I use baby carrots)
couple tomatoes (chopped) or canned chopped tomatoes
add spices to your liking

Cook until the cabbage is soft (this will take about an hour or two)

About half an hour before it's ready, throw in some uncooked chicken
breast pieces. Make sure the chicken is cooked before you start enjoying
your soup.

Of course this is just an idea for a soup, anything else can be added, and
if I had dill, I would add that, too. I don't think there is a limit to what can
be mixed in. I don't use potatoes, because I have to watch starch intake.

Well, I think it's time to sign off, and make more coffee and watch some telly.

Christmas Cake Recipe

Christmas Cake

Use bundt cake pan, or a loaf pan, grease with butter and sprinkle bread crumbs on top of butter.

You need 3 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately, and then added according to recipe instructions.

BEAT to a soft mix:


1 cup sugar
1 cup butter


Add beaten egg yolks



Set the above mix aside and:

MIX:

2 cups flour
2 cups raisins, cherries, citropeels (they come in small containers all mixed already)
2 tbsp crushed almonds

ADD above mixture to sugar/butter/egg yolk mix

ADD:

1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp Cognac (optional....my aunt's recipe) (I use brandy)

1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup milk, with 1/2 tsp baking soda mixed to milk
3 beaten egg whites

Bake in 350 degrees until done.

Friday Blues

Our office was closed today, due to Remembrance day, which is tomorrow. During this week I have walked by some old men, sitting patiently at shopping malls, holding boxes of poppy pins in their wrinkled, sometimes shaking, old hands.

I am wearing a poppy pin, and am thankful for the men and women who were fighting for our freedom. Thank You!

I went to the office, to do some "work"! Office work, that is, yeah. I had to mail a parcel to a friend, and I had the box, paper, and heavy duty packing tape at work.
I also paid some bills, and sent a claim to insurance company for my prescriptions. I was very satisfied of my "work" day. I spent an hour in the office. It was nice and quiet, no phones, no irritating interruptions from other staff members, no sounds from any annoying radio stations. Mind you, I can turn my radio sound down, but when I walk by a desk of someone else, I can hear the music. Not that I hate music, I just don't like loud music when I try to work. Actually I love music, and specially a variety of it. Almost anything goes. I could list the ones I don't like, easily, but I really am not in the mood for that.

OK, then I went to the post office, mailed my parcel, went to a magazine store to look for the latest knitting magazine from England, which was not in yet. I must wait another week or two, or what ever, to get it. Why does it take a month to get a magazine from England to come to a store here, when I could get it within a week if I subscribed to it?

I know, I know, airmail thingy, and the boat thingy, big difference. I didn't think that anything comes by boat any more. Or is it a cargo ship-something. I suppose they still bring important items, like knitting and crocheting books and magazines from overseas. Yup. That reminds me of a good friend of mine, from high school, he was a really nice guy. I heard that he is a captain of a large ship, somewhere. I hope he will bring my magazine soon, if he is steering that ship. That was a silly thought.

Came home; started preparing meal for the night. I made stew. It was not bad, but not the best stew I have made in my many stewing experiments. I don't think I am a good cook, normally, but sometimes I will surprise myself, and hubby! Today I surprised myself for not having a stew that was out of this world, it was just stew from my kitchen. Leftovers are for lunch next week. Had it been an extraordinarily delicious stew, there would have not been any leftovers.

I have done zero stitches today, although I had planned to finish the jeans jacket, that has been my WIP since last week. I have completed the back, fronts and one sleeve. Left to do things are: the other sleeve, button band, collar and pocket flap, plus finish some yarn ends. It' looks quite cute, if I may say so. I might get the other sleeve done half way tonight, but that may be just a "might".

Are there such things as empty thoughts? I think I have a remarkable collection of them.

STEW

Hamburger meat

leftover tomato sauce, with herbs and seasonings

carrots

onion

onion soup mix (optional)

garlic

green pepper

celery

pieces of cabbage (optional)

potato (peeled)

water

salt, pepper (if onion soup mix not used)

Put everything else, but potato in a pot, and cook about 45 minutes. stir the hamburger meat, so that it blends well with other ingredients. We don't want a big blob of hamburger meat in the stew? Of course stewing beef could be used, too; help yourself to choose your meat, or no meat.

Half an hour or so, before you are ready to eat, add potato into the stew, make sure you have enough liquid to cover the potato. Leave the pot open, otherwise your stew becomes a soup. We need some of the water to evaporate, don't we.

I did not include amounts of ingredients, because I don't usually measure things, I just add, look and taste. It's the same when I make scrumbles for free form stuff. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they just are.

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

We went to our friends for a BBQ. We were to go there around 4-5 pm, but no specific time was really given. Usually we arrive first to these parties. Needless to say, we had to watch Brazil and France play. After the game we left for the party. I had made some mini stuffed pitas. I used tuna and ham for stuffing. I decorated the dish with toothpicks that had a tiny Canada flag on them.

My hamburger was delicious. I should have eaten only that one, but no, I had to take a piece of chicken and a small pork chop, which I didn't eat, because it was flavored with something sweet, and I didn't expect that flavor on my pork chop. I like them with white pepper and salt, nothing else. Of course I had to taste the chicken, which wasn't bad, but not nearly as good as the hamburger. The chicken was cold, but was not bad, really!

For some reason, it started raining, and we had to run inside. I thought that all Canada Days were sunny, warm and no rain nowhere. This is what I remember from previous celebrations.
Some of the most memorable Canada Days were in small towns, out from our big city. Don't ask me why, but I miss driving around the countryside. We have not done that for a while.

For dessert we had fresh fruit and cake, layered with whipping cream, strawberries and blueberries. Oh, I should have left that on the plate. Should have, should have....mango should have been enough for dessert. ACK.

Ok, I am full and not too happy with myself.

Aside from eating, I was crocheting all day before the party. I have not finished my World Cup Knitting project yet. I have the front done, except the ribbing in the neck and arm holes. I think I have about one night work to do with the back piece, but I am determined to finish all before the games are finished.

My crochet work is aimless stuff. I think I am going to be able to make a freeform vest before the CGOA Chain Link Show, but I will take a day off from work, if I need it. The problem I have with the vest is that I have two different color themes. One is with turquoise and the other yellow shades. I really don't want to mix those two together at this point. I might get nothing finished before the show, and it's not going to upset me too much. My heart isn't on those projects. My heart isn't on anything right now, really. I just work on stuff, for no apparent goal in mind. Well, yes, I have a goal, but it's too much to reach at this point.

Here is how I made the stuffing for mini pitas:

Two cans of flaked tuna in water,
mix with:
no fat mayo
white pepper
chopped onion
oregano

Two cans of ham
mix with
white pepper
chopped onion
Dijon mustard
horseradish
some grated Parmesan cheese
no fat mayo

of course you can use your imagination to mix the tuna and ham with anything you want.

I made about 40 of these little pitas, and all was eaten. Our granddaughter helped in the eating process.